by Stewart Mason
In the vein of such invitingly mopey indie folk crooners as Iron & Wine, Laura Veirs, and the seemingly hundreds of folks attempting to be the next Elliott Smith without the unpleasant end, Sera Cahoone's self-described goal in her official press kit is to be seen as "a musical love child of Buck Owens and Cat Power." Raised in the suburbs of Denver, CO, Cahoone began playing drums at the age of 11 and spent her teenage years in a succession of local bands, often in the company of Roger Green (later of the Czars) and future fellow indie folk singer/songwriter Patrick Park. Landing in the Pacific Northwest upon leaving school, Cahoone joined the artsy indie rock outfit Carissa's Wierd, despite their egregiously misspelled name. The group developed a cult following over the course of several increasingly baroque and accomplished records, but split up in 2003 when leader Jenn Ghetto left to concentrate on her solo project S. While occasionally playing drums with another Carissa's Wierd offshoot, Band of Horses, Cahoone wrote and recorded her self-titled solo debut in 2005. Originally self-released but eventually distributed by Sub Pop Records, Sera Cahoone garnered quite a bit of critical acclaim and paved the way for 2008's followup record, Only as the Day Is Long.